Power and Authority
Bob Yandian
His power is embodied in the Holy Spirit, who lives in you. Knowing the Holy Spirit lives in you is the rock-solid foundation of your understanding and security about your authority as a believer.
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In the Beginning
Bob Yandian
God is not confined to working with things that already exist. God can make things exist out of nothing and then make those things into something! God created the universe with nothing.
Read MoreThe Believer’s Authority
Bob Yandian
What God lost in this earth through the fall of Adam was not His power. When Adam fell, God did not become weaker. He was as powerful as He ever was. What God lost in the fall was a channel of authority (man), through whom He could release His power in the earth
Read MoreHow Deep are the Stripes?
Bob Yandian
How deep are His stripes? Not only are they deep enough to bring physical healing, they are deep enough to heal controversy, to heal strife, to restore peace and to heal emotions. The stripes of Jesus run deep!
Read MoreLiving Grace
Bob Yandian
Some people think having grace means they can live an ungodly life and do anything they want. This is simply not true! Grace is never a license to sin; it’s a license to serve. In fact, grace teaches us not to sin. Grace teaches us to reject the world’s viewpoint and to live sober, righteous, and godly lives.
Read MoreThe Tree of Destruction and The Tree of Redemption
Bob Yandian
After the great revival at Samaria, Philip was sent by an angel to the desert to minister to an Ethiopian eunuch. He came at just the right time to find the eunuch reading from the book of Isaiah. Philip began to read at the same verse "... and preached to him Jesus" (Acts 8:35). As the eunuch saw how Jesus Christ fulfilled the scriptures in Isaiah, he believed and was saved.
Jesus is often spoken of in the Old Testament. He Himself confirmed this in John 5:39, "You search the scriptures... these are they which testify of Me."
Jesus Came to Fulfill All That Was Written
When Jesus Christ came into the world, He spoke to God the Father concerning the Old Testament scriptures: "Then I said, 'Behold I have come - in the volume of the book it is written of Me, to do Your will, O God.'"
Not only is Jesus spoken of in the Old Testament, He came to fulfill all that was written.
Did you know that Jesus can be found in every book of the Old Testament? In some cases, it is as straightforward as the prophecy from Isaiah that Philip and the eunuch read. Other times, Jesus is found as a shadow or type - a sort of "visual aid" God gives His children to reveal His great redemption plan. Studying these Old Testament scriptures can give us powerful insights into what God has provided for His Church.
Two Trees in the Garden
Jesus appears many times in the book of Genesis. One example can be found in Genesis 2:9, "And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
What a lavish God we serve! He did not make just a few trees for Adam and Eve - He made millions! And they were not all for food; many were just beautiful to see. Since we are both practical and emotional creatures, God mad some trees for food and for beauty.
Two trees stood alone in the Garden: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam he could freely eat of every tree except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
The Tree of Destruction
Why did God place a tree in the Garden which could doom His plans and curse His creation? He had to. What good is a creature with a free will if there is no test for that will? God does test His creatures, but always for our good. God also slants His tests toward what He desires. He gives us the right answers before we choose. When He places before us life and death, cursing and blessing, He tells us to choose life and blessing (Deuteronomy 30:19).
In the Garden, there were millions of "yes" trees and one "no" tree. By their sheer number, God was telling man to choose life and blessing, not death and cursing. God also told Adam the benefits of eating the acceptable trees and the curse of eating the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yet, Adam and Eve chose to eat of the tree God forbid. Why?
How was Satan able to tempt two people who were perfect and had everything they needed? They could not sin in the same manner as we can today. They could not covet or steal - because everything belonged to them. They could not commit adultery - because there were no other men or women on earth.
Satan had to convince them that there was something God was keeping from them; that although it seemed like perfection, God had left something out. Satan convinced Adam and Eve that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was keeping them from being like God or from being gods themselves.
The Tree of Redemption
Isn't it interesting that the cross is also called a tree? This tree is not a tree of destruction, but a tree of redemption.
"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree." (Acts 5:30)
"...Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree..." (1 Peter 2:24)
The two trees could not be any more different. God had a plan through the cross to bring us back to Himself. This second tree was able to reverse all the damage inflicted by the first tree.
The Difference Between the Tree in the Garden and the Tree of Calvary
1. The first tree was planted by God, the second by man.
With the first tree, man rejected the plan of God and substituted his own plan. With the cross of Jesus, God rejected man's plan and introduced His own answer: full forgiveness of sins.
2. The first tree was inviting, the second was not.
The tree in the Garden was pleasant to the eyes, but in the cross we have nothing of beauty. The cross was the place of Jesus' death, a place of pain, covered with blood. "He has no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him" (Isaiah 53:2,3).
3. God forbid man to eat of the first tree, but He invites us to the second.
God told Adam "of the tree... you shall not eat." But of the cross He tells us, "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). Man is so much better off when he listens to God and obeys His voice. His word is as true and vital for our daily life after the new birth as it is for salvation. In Matthew 4:4, Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
4. Satan tried to get man to eat from the first tree, but tries to keep him from the second.
Satan told Adam and Eve, "You shall not surely die." He called God a liar and they believed him. With the same amount of effort Satan tried to get man to eat of the first tree, he now works to keep man from the cross. The Bible tells us, "Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, ..., should shine on them" (2 Corinthians 4:4).
We must put all our effort into rejecting the words of Satan and obeying the words of God!
5. Eating the first tree brought death, while the second tree brings life.
God warned Adam, "In the day you eat of it you shall surely die." But today God encourages us to put our trust in Jesus and be born again: "Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). In spreading the gospel, we stand on God's side, as His representatives, calling people to lose their sins and gain eternal life
6. The first tree removed man from Paradise, the second tree brings us back.
When Adam sinned, "the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden" (Genesis 3:23). Man could no longer live in God's presence and had to be banished. But when the thief accepted salvation on the cross, Jesus said to him, " today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). We have been brought back into the Garden and are accepted in God's presence again.
7. The first tree took us away from the Tree of Life, the second brings us back.
Adam and Eve had to be banished from the Garden to prevent them from eating of the tree of Life and living forever in a fallen condition. Angels guarded the Tree of Life, keeping men out (Genesis 3:24). But at the point of the new birth, we again have access to the Tree of Life.
Although the Tree of Life will be found in heaven (Revelation 2:7), we also have access to it in our daily, earthly walk with the Lord. Proverbs 3:13-18 says, "Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with here. Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand is riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of here, and happy are all who retain here."
The Tree of Life is the Word of God. After the Fall, Adam and Eve could not eat of it. To come back to the Tree of Life, man must receive eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God is said to be "foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). They cannot understand God's Word because it is spiritually understood.
However, as believers, we can understand the Word and God freely invites us to eat of it. As we do, He promises it will bring us happiness, wisdom, understanding, riches, long life, and peace.
The Kingdom of Heaven
Bob Yandian
We learn more about entering the kingdom of heaven from Matthew 18:1-3, "At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
Read MoreFaith and Hope
Bob Yandian
The Word of God is filled with hope. We have had the wrong impression of hope for too long. I have laid hands on people for healing and asked them if they were healed, they have replied that they hope so. That is not even hope; that is wishful thinking. Hope is not wishing.
Read MoreKeep on Hearing
Bob Yandian
Proverbs 4:20-22, tells us these same things. "My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh." When you attend to the Word, you plant seeds and the reward exceeds what you put into it. You are always going to reap more than what you sow. So if you sow time into the Word and attend to it, you are going to reap back tremendous benefits.
Read MoreVictory In Adversity
Bob Yandian
God does not send temptations, trials, and afflictions into our lives. James 1:13 tells us, " Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone." Rather, God is who sends the relief and the power to rebuild. The Bible assures us, "...then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations..." (2 Peter 2:9). And God's power to rebuild is always greater than the power of destruction.
Read MoreGet Your Eyes Off Yourself
Bob Yandian
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. – Proverbs 4:7 NKJV
I have seen this happen so often. A person comes to church and gets built up in the word, and then begins to stand on the word of God. After a while, there’s almost an arrogance that can come into some people’s hearts and their attitude becomes that it’s their faith, and their great wisdom that’s getting them healed. Folks, God healed you. In fact, the closer you draw to Him and the more of the word you have, you should end up walking in more humility toward yourself and greater praise toward God.
The Bible tells us that Abraham became strong in faith. It didn’t say Abraham became strong in faith by taking all the glory for himself. It says Abraham became strong in faith giving glory to God (Romans 4:20). The stronger he became in faith, the less he thought of himself, and the more he thought of God.
I don’t believe people that come to me and say, “Hey, I’ve grown in faith.” And all you hear is about them. “I did the four points. I did the seven things here. I fasted. I prayed.” It’s all I…I…I…. I think the more you grow in faith the more you should talk about the goodness and mercy of God…the grace of God. Because really when it comes down to it, I don’t care how strong in faith you are it’s still not your faith that makes you whole. It’s God working through your faith and His power that makes you whole. Of course, the two work together, and you are to walk in faith, but in the end strong faith always glorifies God because He is the one who heals us. He’s the one who brings deliverance.
The more I know of the word, the more I should fall in love with Jesus. Fall in love with His grace, and thank Him for His stripes, and thank Him for the shed blood, and thank Him for the things He did for me so that I can walk in the abundant life that He has for me.
The Leading of the Holy Spirit
“Show me your ways (notice they’re plural), Lord, teach me your paths (notice they’re plural). Lead me in your truth. Teach me, for you are the God of my salvation (or my deliverance); (notice this) on you do I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:4-5, paraphrased).
Notice, here’s a guy that has all the verses and has all the ways shown before him, but he needs to wait on the Lord all day long to finally get the peace of the Holy Spirit as to what to do. God doesn’t want us to choose what we’re going to do with our life. He wants to guide us into all these things He shows us from the Word. The same thing is true with methods of healing. We are to wait on the Lord throughout the day, and let Him guide us into the right way we are to go.
Once we have the word, we should meditate on it. Why? Verse 15 says, “I will meditate in thy precepts (that’s the word), and have respect unto your ways” (Psalm 119:15 paraphrased).
The precepts are the word, and the ways are the direction of the Holy Spirit. We need to wait for both and not just have the word, but also wait on the Holy Spirit. The word brings healing, but also the anointing of God brings healing. The two work together to cause that powerful effect in our lives.
If you discover you have sickness in your body, find scriptures on that and meditate on them. But then wait on the Holy Spirit for His direction, and He will show you how that is to be accomplished in your life.
The Mercy of God
Bob Yandian
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
Lamentations 3:22: KJV
Have you ever looked back on your past and wondered why you are still alive? Many situations in my life should have brought me to the grave. My life was kept from death in a car accident. A tumor suddenly appeared in my body and I was spared. I have traveled to countries where my life was in danger and God surrounded me with His protection. I am sure that you have faced similar situations and rejoice over the fact that God has kept you alive!
We have probably been spared from many calamities that were due to our own stupidity. We have no one to blame but ourselves and yet God has preserved us. Our ignorance and disobedience did not nullify God's mercy. It is because of God's mercy that you and I are alive today!
Jeremiah wrote Lamentations 3:22 while he and his people were in captivity. Torture and death surrounded the captive Israelites each day. Jeremiah reminded them of the grace and mercy of God that had kept them alive. The Israelites and their nation should have been destroyed. They were in captivity because of their own disobedience. Yet, their disobedience did not overthrow the mercy of God. Jeremiah reminded the Israelites that God's mercy would not fail and that it would continue into the future.
What did this mean to Jeremiah and his generation, and what does it mean to us today? It means that as surely as God has taken care of us in the past, He will not fail us tomorrow. Israel was not finished as a nation. God had promised them an inheritance, land, a kingdom and an eternal King. God's promise was given by His grace. The Israelites did not deserve to be blessed or given a future, yet God blessed them and gave them a future. This is the wonder of God's mercy!
As surely as Israel has a future, so we also have a future. The same standard which God has used in the past, His mercy, is the same standard by which we will survive calamities in the days to come. Our destiny as believers is not only on earth, but also in heaven with the Lord Jesus. The God who watched over the Israelites in slavery and persecution is the same God who watches over us.
Begin to recall your past deliverance. Rejoice in the testimonies that God has given to you and your family. Count your blessings and remember that God is not through! Your list of blessings has more pages yet to be written. It will not be complete until you die or until Jesus comes back for you. There may be more afflictions you will face in your life, but there are also more deliverance's. We can rejoice over the future by reflecting on God's past mercy in our lives.
Knowing God (MP3s)
Sale Price:
$21.00
Original Price:
$39.00
Who is God? Is it really possible for mortal man to communicate with his Creator even though God is a Spirit? If man was truly made in God’s image and likeness, how are we like God? Do we share similar attributes and characteristics and if we do, what are they? Knowing God: A 13 lesson teaching by Bob Yandian guaranteed to increase your knowledge of the God of the universe! The Bible says if you do not love, you do not know God because God is love. This must mean the more we know God, the greater our capacity to love! Would you like to increase your ability to love God, yourself, and those around you? As you listen to this dynamic teaching, you will be changed and become a greater expression of God in the world.
Sermon Titles:
The Independence of God
The Will of God
God’s Infinite Knowledge
The Foreknowledge of God
The Greatness of God
Our Unchanging God
The Holiness of God
God’s Omnipotence
God’s Faithfulness
The Goodness of God
The Patience of God
The Mercy of God
The Wrath of God
13 MP3s / MFD12
Knowing God (CDs)
Sale Price:
$55.00
Original Price:
$78.00
Who is God? Is it really possible for mortal man to communicate with his Creator even though God is a Spirit? If man was truly made in God’s image and likeness, how are we like God? Do we share similar attributes and characteristics and if we do, what are they? Knowing God: A 13 lesson teaching by Bob Yandian guaranteed to increase your knowledge of the God of the universe! The Bible says if you do not love, you do not know God because God is love. This must mean the more we know God, the greater our capacity to love! Would you like to increase your ability to love God, yourself, and those around you? As you listen to this dynamic teaching, you will be changed and become a greater expression of God in the world.
Sermon Titles:
The Independence of God
The Will of God
God’s Infinite Knowledge
The Foreknowledge of God
The Greatness of God
Our Unchanging God
The Holiness of God
God’s Omnipotence
God’s Faithfulness
The Goodness of God
The Patience of God
The Mercy of God
The Wrath of God
13 CDs
Who is the Good Samaritan?
Bob Yandian
The parable of the good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:25-37 is very familiar to most believers. Since our early days in Sunday School, this parable has been used to teach us how to love those who need help, those who are down and out.
Looking Beneath the Surface
But there is more to this parable than meets the eye. And though what we have been taught may be an application of the parable, it is far from being the correct interpretation. This parable, like most, has more than just a surface meaning. In fact, in this simple story. Jesus paints a dispensational picture that reaches from the fall of Adam to His own second coming.
Read MoreThe Power of the Mustard Seed
Bob Yandian
A Little is a Lot
How much faith is necessary to meet your need? If you are like most Christians, you would say, "A Lot." Yet this is simply not true. Jesus said that in matters of faith, a little is a lot!
Think about it. The biggest miracle you ever received was the new birth. The tiny amount of faith you used when you received Jesus as Your Lord moved you from Satan's kingdom into God's, from spiritual death into eternal life, and from satanic darkness into the kingdom of light. Nothing will ever compare with the power demonstrated by God when He removed you from Satan's family and made you His own child. Any other need you may have in your life is eclipsed by your deliverance at salvation. Any other miracle is a lesser miracle.
More Faith is Not the Answer
We have all been guilty of telling someone who did not receive healing, "You needed more faith." We have also condemned ourselves when we failed to receive an answer to prayer, saying, "I guess I didn't have enough faith." We spend time trying to build up our faith, when this isn't the answer at all. We are not in need of more faith, but of liberating and setting free the faith we have.
In foreign countries, we see people receiving Jesus as Lord and then immediately being healed of incurable diseases, receiving their eyesight or hearing, or having missing limbs restored. What's even more mysterious is that many are healed of incurable diseases and then become saved. These people have not had time to build up a great amount of faith - but what little faith they have is unhindered.
The Day the Disciples Failed
In Matthew 17, Jesus was called on to cast the devil out of a young boy. His disciples had been unsuccessful, and the father now looked to Jesus for the answer.
"And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” Matthew 17:18, 19
The disciples were bewildered when Jesus was successful after they were not. They were confused because they had been successful many times before. When Jesus first gave them power over unclean spirits and every type of sickness (Matthew 10:1), they went out, two-by-two, using their new-found authority over Satan. They came back rejoicing that demons were subject to them (Luke 10:17). This instance in Matthew 17 was not the first time they had come up against demons - it was one of many times. So why were they not successful?
The story is told again in Mark 9:14-27. Mark fills us in on many details Matthew did not give. Mark tells us the disciples were surrounded by a large multitude of people who were watching them. There was also a group of scribes who were questioning the disciples and antagonizing them. It didn't help matters when the young boy who needed deliverance fell to the ground wallowing and foaming from his mouth.
The disciples were really put on the spot. Before, when they had gone out two-by-two, a multitude did not follow them. They were able to cast out devils without so many distractions, often in the privacy of a home. Now all eyes were on them. They felt the pressure of the worried father, the on-looking crowd, and the critical attitude of the religious leaders. Under this great pressure, they failed for the first time.
What Was Jesus' Answer?
When the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the devil, He did not tell them they did not have faith.
"So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20
Before speaking with Jesus, the disciples had apparently tried to analyze their failure among themselves and had come to the conclusion they didn't have enough faith. This explains why Jesus mentioned the small amount of faith needed to remove problems in the Christian life. Between the last successful case of casting out a devil and this occasion of failure, something unnoticed had crept into the faith life of the disciples.
The problem with the disciples was not more faith, but less unbelief. In fact, Jesus said a very small amount of faith, the size of a mustard seed, would not only move a mountain, it would also guarantee no impossibilities from that time on. But to work, the mustard seed has to be unhindered. A little bit of unbelief will nullify the power of faith.
Faith was never designed to be a tug of war. When unbelief is absent, a mustard-seed amount of faith will carry a mountain into the sea. Unbelief acts as an opponent to faith and pulls on the mountain from the other side. Faith is nullified and the mountain remains. Jesus told the disciples that unbelief was why they were unable to cast out the devil.
Although Jesus was in the same situation as the disciples, He was not moved by the attention of the crowd or the critical attitude of the scribes. He was not intimidated by the young boy who fell on the ground wallowing and foaming. He cast out the devil and set the young boy free. Jesus was a man of faith. He had no unbelief, so His faith was free and unhindered.
The Power of the Mustard Seed
Do you remember the song a number of years ago about the and who wanted to move a rubber tree plant? With high hopes, he did. Have you ever been on a picnic and watched a piece of popcorn or cake crumb go walking off? When you lifted the popcorn, you found an ant underneath. The ant can move objects much larger and heavier than itself. But faith is even more powerful.
Imagine a mountain moving along without anything visible pushing it. If you could lift up the mountain, you would find a measure of faith the size of a mustard seed carrying the mountain toward the sea. And after the mountain is gone, this tiny speck of faith just keeps on working, guaranteeing absolute success in every situation from then on. This speck only asks one thing: "Keep me unhindered and free from unbelief."
When Jesus met resistance to His healing and miracle power, He did not blame it on a lack of faith, but a presence of unbelief. The Scriptures tell us as much about ridding ourselves of unbelief as they do of increasing our faith. Let's look at a few of the verses:
"Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Matthew 13:58
"Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief." Mark 6:5, 6
"Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen." Mark 16:14
In Hebrews, we find instructions for us as New Testament, Church-age believers:
"So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." Hebrews 3:19
"...Those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of unbelief," Hebrews 4:6
"Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of unbelief." Hebrews 4:22
So, How Do I Get Rid of Unbelief
Jesus said, "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Jesus was not referring to the demon in the young boy. There is no demon which is not subject to the name of Jesus (Luke 10:17-19, Ephesians 1:21, 22). Jesus was talking here about unbelief: "this kind (of unbelief) does not out except by prayer and fasting."
There are two types of unbelief: rebellious unbelief and passive unbelief. Rebellious unbelief comes from sin. It openly defies the Word and power of God. The exodus generation was guilty of this type of unbelief. When confronted with the promises of God, they hardened their heart and spoke out against God and Moses.
This was not the kind of unbelief the disciples had when they tried to cast the demon out of the young boy. They were not hardening their hearts against God's plan. No, they faced the second type of unbelief - passive unbelief.
The disciples were truly believing God, but their faith was nullified. As soon as they could, they took Jesus aside and asked in all honesty why they could not cast out the devil this time as they had before.
The Lord's answer cut right to the heart of the problem: "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Passive unbelief comes from over-occupation with legitimate things of life. In Mark 4:7, Jesus warns of the thorns which choke the Word and make it unfruitful. In verses 18 and 19, He describes the thorns of unbelief as "...the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things..." The cares of this world are not bad, wealth is not wrong, and things are a legitimate part of life. But if we spend too much time concerned with them, our fruitfulness is choked out.
God wants our time to be taken up with prayer and the Word of God. He knows that His Word is our source of life. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) Passive unbelief takes us away from the Word as we fill our life to overflowing with other activities.
2 Corinthians 10:5 gives us an insight into passive unbelief: "...casting down arguments (reasonings), and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God..." Unbelief comes with reasonings which set themselves up against the Word of God.
Jesus gave His disciples the remedy for curing this type of unbelief: it has to be starved to death!
Relief from Unbelief
Do you remember a time in your Christian life when you rarely listened to the radio or watched television? Do you remember when the Word was the most important thing to you? You filled each spare moment with the Word.
In those days, your faith worked every time. You were growing daily toward maturity, and each mountain you faced seemed to head toward the sea. Your faith may have been small, but it was completely free from unbelief.
But now, do you come home after work and sit in front of the television for hours at a time? Do you listen to the radio or other things while in your car? Is your home filled with movies instead of Bible teaching? Do you surf the internet all evening and into the morning hours?
Is it any wonder that the demons who used to flee and the mountains which used to head for the sea, now won't budge? The faith which used to be unhindered is now stifled by human reasonings. The thorns of unbelief have rendered your faith unfruitful. Relief from this type of unbelief demands prayer and fasting.
You must starve unbelief. Unbelief feeds off input from the world. I recommend "fasting" from such input for a beginning period of one to two weeks. Spend more time listening to the teaching of God's Word, don't turn on the television, read a teaching book. this will begin to starve your unbelief to death. Your faith will find a freedom it has not experienced for years.
After only one day you will notice a great difference. You will find yourself meditating on the teaching you have heard and read. Instead of songs and news which only produce human reasonings, doubt, and unbelief, human reasonings will be starved to death and will no longer exalt themselves against the knowledge of God
You will have liberated your faith. And once again, it will be unhindered, free from unbelief, and ready to carry mountains off into the sea!
Knowledge and Wisdom
Bob Yandian
Knowledge and Wisdom
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22).
Taking in the Word is what James calls being a hearer of the Word. Putting out the Word is being a doer of the Word. We all want to be a doer of the Word, because it is in the doing that the blessings come, right? But you can’t be a doer until you are a hearer. It’s just like breathing. You breathe in and you breathe out. You take in the Word, and you put out the Word.
Taking in the word of God is called knowledge. The correct output or application of that knowledge is called wisdom. You must have knowledge before you can produce wisdom.
Knowledge is up to you; it takes discipline to obtain it – taking the time to get into the Word and study it.
The Bible says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15). But once you have taken in the Word and gained knowledge, then the Bible says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,” (James 1:5).
Solomon, full of knowledge, asked God for the ability to produce the Word (wisdom). That is what we should be doing. We should be saying, “Lord, give me an opportunity to share. Help me put the words together.” The more you study God’s Word, the more the Holy Spirit will give you the right word at the right time. That is wisdom.
Wisdom and Knowledge Will Give You Stability
Isaiah 33:6 says, “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.” If there is anything that Christians need today, it is a stabilizer, because the devil is still knocking Christians over left and right. There are Christians who are mentally ill. Christians are becoming oppressed and depressed all around us. Being born again doesn’t make you immune to the attacks of the devil; none of us are immune. But it is the Word of God that makes you stable in the midst of the attacks.
You can’t stop the thoughts and doubts from coming, but those who have the Word of God in them know how to cast them down and keep their minds on the Word.
There are times I begin to look around and say, “When was the last time the devil attacked me?’ Then I realize that he has been attacking me, I just haven’t noticed it because the Word of God has been a stabilizer on the inside of me.
There are a lot of Christians today who aren’t even sure they are born again. This is one of the big tools of the devil. The very fact that a person wants to get right with the Lord, but they think they can’t do it is an indication that they haven’t committed an unpardonable sin and they continue to believe the lies of the devil.
How can a person get strength of salvation?
Through knowing the word of God and applying it – knowledge and wisdom. When you apply the Word in your life, you have strength of salvation. There’s no devil; that can convince you that you’re not saved. You know you are. Feelings have nothing to do with it.
Taking in the Word
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
The Greek word for “blessed” is makarios which means ‘happy, jubilant.” The word “poor” here actually means “to be destitute,” or “bankrupt.” How could someone who is bankrupt be happy in spirit? It goes on to explain how: “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
This is the Beatitude of the new birth, and it is telling us that Jesus died for the ungodly; salvation is provided for the sinner (1 Timothy 1:15). Jesus didn’t die just for the elect, or just for the few who would accept Him; He died for the whole world. (2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 John 2;2)
If you haven’t accepted the kingdom of heaven and the blessings of God, that’s not God’s fault, it’s your fault. He has already blessed you If you’re sick today, you’re still blessed. Why? Because healing already belongs to you. If you’re broke today, you’re blessed anyway because prosperity belongs to you. The riches of heaven already belong to you whether you’ve accepted them or not.
Become Teachable
“Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)
“Meek” is a word that has been grossly misused. People often think to be meek is to be “weak.” When we picture a meek person, we always think of a scrawny guy who lets everyone run over him. He’s easy to pick on therefore he’s meek. No. The word “meek’ does not mean to be weak, it means “to be teachable.”
If you are meek, you are teachable. James tells us to “receive with meekness the implanted word,” (James 1:21). That means “be teachable while the Word is being taught.” There are a lot of things you can learn if you’ll just be teachable. I have been to services when someone may preach something that I may not agree with or what sounds like a lot of unbelief. Instead of closing him off, I remain teachable and start looking for things with which I can agree. I might find only one or two points, but there have been times when I’ve remembered those points and was able to use them somewhere. I probably disregarded 98 percent of his message, but the 2 percent I remembered was usable. I stayed teachable.
One of the first things you need to do in the Christian life, therefore, is become teachable. Read good books. Get under a pastor you can trust and start learning the Word of God.
The Heart
Bob Yandian
Proverbs 3:5, exhorts us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding…” If I substituted spirit here, this would indicate that I could trust the Lord with only part of my spirit and that doesn’t seem reasonable. However, reading it with the idea that we must trust the Lord with our spirits and our souls does make sense. We need to line up our minds with our spirits and we can do this by heeding Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (See also, 2 Corinthians 10:4) Philippians 4:8, admonishes us to “think only things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.” Isaiah 26:3 promises us that, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.”
Read MoreThe Blood and the Name
Bob Yandian
But once we have gone through the blood and our sins are forgiven; once we have been raised from the dead with Jesus and been highly exalted with Him, the next thing He does is give us the name which is above every name; the name that causes angels to go into battle in our behalf, the name that causes nations to bow, that causes demons to bow, causes Satan to bow, things on the earth and things under the earth, and most importantly, causes people to be born again!
Read MorePrayerful Boldness
Bob Yandian
One of the greatest things a congregation can do for their pastor is to pray for him. Pray that the Word and message that is inside of him will come forth clearly and that the hearts of the people will be open to receive it. When we pray for pastors or other ministers, we are actually asking God to bless us as well, because we will benefit from what is coming forth.
The boldness that Paul is referring to in this verse is the anointing. The anointing is directly related to prayer.
Read MoreIt Is Finished
Bob Yandian
By going to the cross, shedding His blood for us, taking our sins, our sicknesses, and the curse that was upon us, Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial requirements of the law. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He meant both the law and the sacrifices. The shedding of His blood ended the requirement of the law to sacrifice the blood of bulls and goats for the sins of the people. Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb of God who became sin and shed His blood that we might become the righteousness of God in Him!
Read MoreAuthority in Two Worlds
Bob Yandian
Bible scholars often use these passages to substantiate their belief that the Bible contradicts itself.
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